Five Texas high school players to watch this monthHIGH5

Photo by Andy Tolbert

Photo by Rick Castillo

Get to know five rising stars
in Texas high school football

Jaelin BenefieldAthlete • Pearland • SophomoreThe greater Houston area has no shortage of youngstars, and the sophomore Benefield has quicklyshown up on people’s radars thanks to his sensa-tional versatility. He’s the Oilers’ leading rusher,averaging more than 6. 8 yards per carry on theseason; and he’s the team’s second-leading receiv-er, averaging more than 15 yards per catch. Oh,and he’s a special teams dynamo as well. Get usedto his name, Houston fans; he’ll be around a while.

Garrett SharpQuarterback • RR Cedar Ridge • SeniorThe newest school in Round Rock is unquestionablyhaving the best season so far, as coach Shawn Bellhas the Raiders rolling. The former Baylor QB hasa pretty solid signal-caller to rely on in Sharp, whohas been every bit his namesake. Through the team’sfirst five games, Sharp has thrown for 9 touchdownsand run for another 6 scores. But the most importantstat for the senior Sharp? His team is 5-0 and lookingevery bit the part of a state title contender.